Farm's manure-pit proposal divides Ledgeview residents. Neighbors in luxury houses to the north worry about odors, safety and potential impacts on property values. But the farm was there long before a developer started building houses nearby.
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Ledgeview residents concerned about a proposal to install a manure-holding area at a local dairy farm jam a public hearing at the town hall on Aug. 7(Photo: Doug Schneider/USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin)

LEDGEVIEW - A Brown County dairy farm continues to pursue a controversial expansion that would require a multi-million gallon manure-storage facility, and they're taking the case to a state panel.

Ledgeview Farms LLC, alleging an anti-farm bias by the town board, has asked the state Livestock Facility Siting Review Board to overturn the Ledgeview Town Board's June 5 decision to deny a permit for farm's expansion. Attorneys for the Pansier family, the farm's operators, claim the board erred in multiple ways when it denied the conditional-use permit for a facility that could store up to 13 million gallons of manure and leachate.

The appeal is the latest development in a battle that has seen the town accuse the farm's owners of ignoring multiple agricultural rules and regulations. It has also seen residents of a nearby custom housing development complain of potential dangers to children and threats to their property values.

Residents living just north of the farm mounted a coordinated opposition last year when the farm's owners sought permits to increase manure-storage capacity by 9 million gallons. A group of neighbors, including Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, convinced a majority of the town board to increase the distance a manure pit had to be from neighboring properties, effectively blocking the farm from placing the pit anywhere on its property.

In turn, the Pansier family claims the town has been biased against a business that operated in Ledgeview long before homes worth $440,000 to $700,000 began cropping up in recent years on land north of the farm, near Lime Kiln Road.

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Farmland where construction of a manure pit is being proposed is shown from the back deck of Charity Schneider's Ledgeview house.(Photo: Adam Wesley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

'Potential health risks'

Ledgeview Farms proposed in December to increase the size of its operation to 3,483 "animal units," which requires additional manure-storage capacity. The farm also asked the town to allow expansion of a feed-storage area, and construction of a system to collect stormwater run-off and transfer it to the storage system.

Operations at two sites are involved: 3499 Lime Kiln Road and 3875 Dickinson Road. The business said last year it had 1,680 animals in its herd: 550 "milking and dry" cows, 705 heifers of different weights, and 425 steers.

The town ruled in June that the pit would violate a Ledgeview ordinance because it would have been within one-quarter mile of neighboring properties. Town rules require that distance if a farm has 500 or more animal units.

In a 13-page ruling signed by Town Board President Phil Danen, the Board also said Ledgeview Farms has repeatedly violated state and federal regulations. The town says the farm has not corrected some violations and operates as a concentrated animal-feeding operation, or CAFO, without the required state permit.

"Ledgeview Farms is asking the town to approve an expansion while currently operating in significant noncompliance with standards to which it is already subject … Without question, if the town approves this application, Ledgeview Farms will be in noncompliance with state siting standards," the board wrote. "This would result in potential public health risks and devaluation of property, and would likely preclude additional development of residential properties."

The board's ruling also said:

The pit's location puts nearby wells at risk of contamination.

Enlarging the farm would negatively impact neighbors north and west of the farm. .

A bigger farming operation could stunt future development in the area.

'Unenforceable' rule?

Lawyers for Ledgeview Farms counter that violations that may have occurred before the December application was filed can have no legal bearing on the town's decision.

They also say the proposed manure-storage facility would be at least 355 feet from the closest property line, and therefore would meet state requirements governing such matters.

The town's ordinance requires 1,320 feet, but the farm's attorneys say the town regulation is "unenforceable."

"The town did not base its 1,320-feet setback requirement on reasonable and scientifically defensible findings of fact that clearly show that the requirement is necessary to protect public health or safety," attorneys Eric McLeod and Joseph Diedrich wrote.

Ledgeview Farms' overall operation consists of 2,378 acres, all but 50 in Brown County. The Pansier family owns about 700 acres, and rents or leases the rest.

The farm also grows corn for silage and grain, plus winter wheat and alfalfa.

Comments welcome

The Livestock Facility Siting Review Board — which will decide Ledgeview Farms appeal — is the citizen group that hears appeals when a local government grants or denies a request for a new or expanded livestock operation.

People living within two miles of 3499 Lime Kiln Road and 3875 Dickinson Road can file emailed or written comments with the state. Email is preferred. Comments must be received by July 31.

To get a copy of the appeal, contact Daniels at cheryl.daniels@wi.gov or (608) 224-5026.

For a copy of Ledgeview's decision, visit the town offices at 3700 Dickinson Road, email cnagel@ledgeviewwisconsin.com or call (920) 336-3360. The town might require you to fill out a form requesting the document under Wisconsin Open Records Law.

On the web

Click on this story at greenbaypressgazette.com to read the Ledgeview Town Board's reasons for denying the expansion permit, and the appeal filed by Ledgeview Farms LLC.